


Tender Touches

by Lushly



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Short, Tenderness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:21:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26090077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lushly/pseuds/Lushly
Summary: Catra is dealing with guilty feelings, reliving her bad decisions while Adora has a nightmare beside her. They comfort each other.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 68





	Tender Touches

Catra, gently, and with a building sense of guilt, stroked a sleeping Adora’s cheek with the soft, silky fur on the back of her fingers. They were facing each other, snuggled close in the middle of a gigantic bed. Even after everything… Horde Prime, the Fail Safe, almost a year of rebuilding and trying to amend for the damage Catra had directly, _and ruthlessly_ , chosen to inflict upon the citizens of Etheria what seemed like a lifetime ago… after being _with_ Adora and honestly trying to be a better person instead of trying to dominate… Instead of reveling in a sense of superiority and lust for revenge and power, trying to truly and deeply CHANGE...

...After sharing this plush room together at Bright Moon for what felt like they’d been doing forever, picking right back up from when they were kids in the Fright Zone; while simultaneously feeling like everything was different, and new, and uncertain, they’d never quite gotten used to such a big, lavish space. They would cling to each other in the night in favor of the comforting warmth, and even the sweat, of the other’s body over the cool, lonely expanse of bedding. They could be apart during the day for missions, rebuilding projects, meetings, but never at night. Neither of them could escape their nightmares without the other there to hold them through it.

Catra searched Adora’s face in awe and disbelief. How on Etheria had she pulled it off so that this was reality? She asked herself everyday how she could be allowed to finally be here again with Adora after everything she’d done. How she could be this close. This intimate. This _real._ Catra scanned Adora’s face and tried to absorb every breath, every detail, into the essence of her being, so that she would always remember _exactly_ how it felt to be here. She was afraid it wouldn’t last. It felt like any moment Adora could be ripped away from her… SHOULD be ripped away from her. She felt like she _deserved_ it after everything. Everything she freely _CHOSE_ to do.

 _A_ stray lock of blonde hair had made its way onto Adora’s face, whose brow had become furrowed from a stress dream beginning to tear its way through her mind. Catra sighed, tucked the lock carefully behind Adora’s ear, and carefully rolled onto her back. Catra ran that same hand through her own hair which had found its way onto _her_ face. Her hair was getting longer. It was in an awkward in-between stage where it was too short to put up and juuust long enough to get right into her eyes if she moved her head the wrong way. Catra glanced back at Adora. Adora’s breathing had quickened, and Catra could see her eyes shifting erratically underneath her eyelids. Catra put a hand on hers, trying to comfort her, hoping the nightmare would disappear as quickly as it had appeared. How long would things be like this? How long would Adora suffer from the trauma Catra had put her through? True, they had each other now, as much as you _can_ have someone, and Catra was trying so hard to be different, to be _better,_ to be someone who gave love and was worthy of it too... but would the wounds she’d inflicted ever really go away?

Catra closed her eyes and took a deep breath, just like Perfuma had instructed her to do when her thoughts started spiraling. Having friends… REAL friends, not Horde lackies, not people to order around, not people to deceive or to use for her own gain… had been more rewarding than Catra could have ever imagined. Yes, being this vulnerable, this trusting, this REAL, not only with others, but with herself too, was the scariest thing she’d ever done. It was easy to feel prone. But, to make a connection without pretense… to be forgiven and welcomed and… cherished... to be really _known_ , and loved for it was something so intangibly wonderful, she couldn’t even put it into words.

But did she even deserve it?

Catra’s face began to get hot and flush as tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. Another breath, deeper this time, more intentional. Firm. She opened her eyes as Adora grunted, clearly stressed, but sleepily. Adora looked helpless, and it broke Catra’s heart. Was this dream her fault?

“Hey.” Catra whispered, “Adora.” placing a hand, gingerly, just above Adora’s elbow. “you’re having a bad dream.” Catra moved her arm to slip around Adora’s back and began drawing the slightest imaginary circles and shapes there. She pressed her forehead into Adora’s neck and squeezed a handful of the fabric of Adora’s sleepshirt.

“...Catra?”

Adora sounded groggy. Her eyes squinted in the almost blackness of the room, but she hugged her arms around Catra and matched her in her embrace.

“Are you alright?” Adora was a bit more alert now, concern coloring her words, making Catra’s guilt cut all the deeper.

“Yeah,” Catra’s face was still buried in Adora’s neck, “you were having a bad dream. I wanted to help... I wasn’t trying to wake you.”

“I’m glad you did, though.” Adora smiled into Catra’s hair and reached an arm up to brush her fingers through Catra’s short tresses. Catra’s tail flitted back and forth and settled around Adora’s ankle. Adora paused and frowned,

“I was having the _worst_ dream,”

Catra winced.

“you were with me, and we were riding Swift Wind through the sky. We were on our way to a party, but the clouds turned into sticky taffy and Swift Wind got stuck. He was trying to kick his way out of it, but he accidentally threw us off. I reached for you as we were falling, but I couldn’t reach far enough. Everything slowed down and I couldn’t find my sword, we couldn’t reach each other and- “

Adora pressed Catra closer to her, their legs entangling, “I felt powerless. I couldn’t lose you...”

Catra looked up at her and smiled through teary eyes, “You didn’t.”

Catra grazed her thumb against Adora’s cheek, trying so hard to savor Adora’s very existence, and wrapped her tail tighter around her ankle. She leaned in and pressed a long, tender kiss onto Adora’s lips, which Adora pressed hard into.

It was Adora’s turn to tuck Catra’s hair behind her ear. “I’m so glad you’re here with me, Catra… I never want to lose you again. Not even in a dream.” Adora looked at her seriously, intently, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”


End file.
